Jack Palance – Biography, and Interesting Facts You Need To Know

American actor Jack Palance is known to have started his career from scratch but steadily rose to fame as a result of his doggedness, loyalty, and commitment to the film industry. The actor was not born with a silver spoon as he spent his early years working as a coal miner – following the footsteps of his father. He also earned a living through boxing and subsequently, he joined the army before he made it to the spotlight as an actor.

Jack Palance – Biography

Jack Palance is an American actor born as Volodymyr Palahniuk on the 18th of February 1919, in Hazelton, Pennsylvania. Jack, along with his five other siblings, was raised by their parents Ivan and Anna Palahniuk who were Ukrainian immigrants. His father worked as a coal miner, however, the occupation of his mother is not known.

It is not known the elementary and high school he attended but he went to Stanford University and he graduated from there with a degree in Performing Arts.

In 1947, Jack Palance made his first stage appearance in the play The Big Two, where he played the role of a Russian soldier. The play was directed by Robert Montgomery, and in that same year, he featured in another play A Streetcar Named Desire. In the following year, Jack appeared in two other plays A Temporary Island, and The Vigil.

Gathering momentum in the industry, Jack Palance moved from stage performances to the big screen production. He made his first movie appearance in 1950, in the film Panic in the Streets where he played Jack, a member of a gang. He also made an appearance in the movie Halls of Montezuma and Darkness at noon.

The actor subsequently became a household name in the industry for his works in films like Fight to Tangier, Second Chance, Man in the Attic, I Died a Thousand Times and The Lonely Man.

Here Are 5 Facts About Jack Palance

1. Military Service

Prior to becoming an actor, Jack Palance joined the United States Air Force during the outbreak of the second world war as a pilot and he worked with the squad for sometime before he was relieved of his duties in 1944 and was given a Good Conduct Medal for his selfless service in the US Military.

2. Married Twice

Speaking of his marital life, the legendary actor Jack Palance first got married in 1948 to Virginia Baker and the conjugal bliss was blessed with three children namely Holly, Broke and Code. However, the union that lasted for almost 2 decades ended in 1968 and before Baker lost her life in an accident back in 2003.

Jack Palance with wife, Elaine Rogers

Jack’s second marriage was to Elaine Rogers and they were together until his demise. There is, however, no record of him having any child with Elaine.

3. Achievements

Among his many achievements, one cannot forget to mention that Jack Palance has his own star on Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6608 Hollywood Boulevard and added to that, he is a member of the Western Performers Hall of Fame.

The talented actor amassed quite a number of awards and nominations during the hay days of his career. Jack Palance is notably an Oscar-winning actor and he also has 3 Academy Award nominations – for which he won one, as well as winning awards like the American Comedy Award, Primetime Emmy award, the Golden Boot Award in 1993, Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998 and several others.

4. Other Interests

Aside from films, Jack Palance was known to have a penchant for paintings and writing poems. He even drew and sold his artwork with poems written by him inscribed at the back of the paintings and as an author, he is known to have penned down a poetry collection titled The Forest of Love.

5. Death

The iconic actor passed on to the world beyond in 2006, on the 10th of November precisely. Jack Palance died at the age of 87 years in Montecito, California, and his death was said to be a peaceful one as he did not suffer any life-threatening ailment.

In spite of the fact that the veteran actor is no more, his memories are still evergreen in the hearts of his family members, colleagues, friends, fans and the entire Hollywood in general as his contributions cannot be easily forgotten.